“What does the Bible say about slavery?”
It is a common question whenever we read a passage of Scripture that refers to slaves and masters. Modern readers may expect to find a direct condemnation of slavery in a book that speaks so much about freedom in Christ.
The situation is more complicated. We first need to recognize that slavery in the biblical world was not identical to the racially based system that developed through the transatlantic slave trade and existed in the American South. This distinction does not make ancient slavery good or harmless. It does, however, help us understand what the biblical writers were addressing.
A careful reading of Scripture shows a consistent movement: the Bible recognizes slavery as part of the fallen societies in which it speaks, places limits upon its practice, and ultimately introduces truths about human dignity, freedom, and the lordship of God that undermine the institution itself.
We can see this movement in both the Old and New Testaments.
Slavery in the Ancient Near East
The Old Testament was written within the world of the ancient Near East, where slavery was an established part of society. People could become slaves through warfare, poverty, debt, crime, or other circumstances. Some forms of slavery were temporary, while others could be permanent.
Slaves were legally under the authority of their masters and could be treated harshly. At the same time, ancient slavery was not a single uniform institution. Depending upon the time, place, and circumstances, slaves could marry, have families, own property, conduct business, and sometimes obtain their freedom.
Slavery and the Old Testament
The Law and the Prophets treat slavery as part of the world in which Israel lived. However, there are important distinctions.
Slaves purchased from neighboring nations could be held permanently (Leviticus 25:44-46). Israelites who entered slavery because of poverty or debt, however, were normally to be released after six years (Exodus 21:2; Deuteronomy 15:12). When their service ended, masters were not simply to send them away empty-handed, but to provide generously for them as they returned to a free household (Deuteronomy 15:13-14, 18).
The Law also placed significant limits on the treatment of slaves. Slaves shared in the Sabbath rest (Exodus 20:10). Masters could be held accountable for killing or seriously injuring them (Exodus 21:20, 26-27). Slaves could be redeemed from slavery (Leviticus 25:47-50). Most strikingly, an escaped slave who took refuge in Israel was not to be returned to his master, but was allowed to live where he chose without being oppressed (Deuteronomy 23:15-16).
To modern readers, these provisions may still seem insufficient, and they are not an endorsement of slavery as good. But within the ancient Near Eastern world, Scripture places meaningful restrictions on the power of masters and repeatedly treats enslaved persons as human beings rather than merely as property.
Slavery, the Greco-Roman World
The New Testament was written within the Greco-Roman world, where slavery was deeply embedded in society. The Roman economy and household system depended heavily upon enslaved labor, and the institution itself was generally taken for granted.
The experience of slavery varied considerably. Some slaves worked in households, businesses, or skilled professions and could sometimes own property, earn money, or eventually obtain their freedom. Others endured severe physical abuse and sexual exploitation, much of which was permitted under Roman law.
Whatever their individual circumstances, slaves remained legally under the authority of their masters and did not possess the freedom of free persons. This is the social world into which the New Testament speaks.
The New Testament
For brevity’s sake, we will consider the most pointed statements about slavery in the New Testament. Here we begin to see the truths that ultimately undermine the institution itself.
First, we have what are commonly called the “household codes” in Ephesians and Colossians. These are directions Paul gives to Christians for the way their households should operate under the lordship of Christ. His instructions to slaves and masters would have challenged some of the assumptions of the Greco-Roman world.
Paul tells slaves to do their work faithfully and with integrity, because ultimately they are serving the Lord Jesus in whatever they do (Colossians 3:22-24). He then tells masters to treat their slaves justly and fairly because they also have a Master in heaven (Colossians 4:1). Ephesians makes the same point even more explicitly: masters are to stop threatening their slaves, remembering that “both of you have the same Master in heaven, and with him there is no partiality” (Ephesians 6:9).
This changes the relationship at its foundation. The earthly master is not the ultimate master. Both slave and master belong to Christ and stand under his authority. The slave is given dignity as one who serves Christ, while the master is reminded that his authority is limited and that he will answer to the same Lord.
This also means that Christian morality governs the master’s treatment of the slave. Practices that Roman law permitted, including sexual exploitation, were not therefore permissible for Christians. The master was not free to treat the body of another Christian as his own possession.
When both master and slave were Christians, the implications became even more striking. Whatever their social status in the Roman world, they belonged to the same family and stood before the same Lord.
Paul, Philemon, and Onesimus
This point becomes even clearer in Paul’s letter to Philemon. Onesimus was an enslaved man associated with Philemon who had become separated from him in some way. During that time, Onesimus met Paul and became a Christian through Paul’s ministry.
Paul writes to Philemon on Onesimus’s behalf and appeals to him to receive Onesimus “no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother” (Philemon 16). Paul even gets a bit cheeky when he tells Philemon to put anything Onesimus owes him on Paul’s account, while reminding Philemon that Philemon owes Paul his own life.
Then comes one of Paul’s sharpest lines: “Confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask” (Philemon 21).
To make sure that Philemon understands how serious he is, Paul tells Philemon he expects to be released from prison soon and will come to visit Philemon. “Could you have a room made up and ready for me please?”
Finally, this was not a private note. Paul addresses the letter not only to Philemon, but also to the church that meets in his house (Philemon 1-2). The letter would have been read aloud before the household and the congregation. Philemon is being asked to receive Onesimus as a beloved brother with the whole church listening.
The basis for Paul’s appeal is the new reality created by Jesus Christ. Onesimus and Philemon now belong to the same family and serve the same Lord. Whatever their legal status in the Roman world, that relationship can no longer be the final word.
Conclusion
Today, we are right to abhor the institution of slavery. Even though slavery in the biblical world differed in important ways from the system that developed in the Americas, it still reduced human beings to property and opened the door to terrible abuse.
The Bible recognizes slavery as part of a world broken and marred by sin. At the same time, it places limits upon the institution and introduces truths that ultimately work against it. Human beings bear the image of God. God hears the cry of the oppressed. Slave and free are one in Christ. Masters and slaves serve the same Lord. Christians are called to treat one another as brothers and sisters.
Christians have not always followed those truths faithfully. Some later misused Scripture in an attempt to preserve slavery, including slavery in the American South. Yet it is also significant that the movements that abolished the slave trade and slavery in the West arose within cultures deeply shaped by Christianity. Many of their leading advocates explicitly appealed to Christian convictions about human dignity, equality before God, love of neighbor, and freedom.
This was no accident. The more faithfully Christians followed the implications of Scripture, the more clearly they came to see that the ownership of another human being was incompatible with the Christian vision of humanity and with life under the lordship of Jesus Christ.
